Who is Rintrah in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will see the debut of several comic book characters, and we're not just referring to the many rumoured cameos so far. 

Some, such as America Chavez, aren't exactly obscure characters - what with her being Miss America and all, while others, such as Rintrah, stand out glaringly like a green Minotaur in a snow storm. Many comic book fans might not even know of the magician's apprentice, given the character's relatively low profile in the comics.

That said, the minotaur plays an important role in the Doctor Strange sequel, as he is believed to be a crucial ally to the sorcerer. 

Fans first saw Rintrah appear in the movie's first trailer. Identifiable by his green fur, the trailer shows Doctor Strange hovering over a group of warriors, as a cloud of black smoke tumbles across the sky towards them. Viewers sense an impending threat looming and then the camera shifts to view the incoming threat from behind Rintrah's horns. 

Fans were rightfully overjoyed to see the character make his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut but if you're new to him and have close to zero clue as to who and what Rintrah is all about - then let us do the honour of enlightening you. 

Here's all you need to know about Rintrah before catching Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Origins

Rintrah is a minotaur that hails from the planet R'Vaal. He first started as a humble cloth weaver and eventually became Doctor Strange's apprentice after the two bonded when Rintrah was tasked to return Strange's cloak of levitation back to him after another sorcerer, Enitharmon the Weaver, mended it.

After befriending Strange and the other sorcerers, Rintrah began living in the Sanctum Sanctorum and learned magic with Strange. Soon, he became a close friend and bodyguard and helped defend him from physical threats. 

Powers 

Rintrah is a sorcerer with the potential to become as powerful as Doctor Strange. In the comics, he has displayed skills such as illusion casting, magical blasts, astral body projection, levitation, projection of energy shields and dimensional travel.

Whilst he's trained under Strange and Enitharmon, Rintrah has other abilities that he possesses because of his R'Vaalian identity, including telepathy and shapeshifting. 

Shapeshifting has proven to be very helpful for him whenever on Earth as it allows the alien to blend in. Due to his sheer size, Rintrah also possesses a great deal of physical strength and endurance. His horns and hooves can also be used as weapons and while he may not like doing so, Rintrah may even charge at his opponents as bulls do.

In the comics 

Rintrah was created by Peter B. Gillis and Chris Warner. He first appeared in Doctor Strange #81 in 1986. Since his first appearance, he's gone on to become an apprentice and ally to Strange, helping him and protecting him whenever he can. In the comics, he's knocked out a possessed Hulk, allowed Strange to possess his body in order to stop a demon sorcerer Urthona, and even dabbled in black magic.

Rintrah and Strange worked together many times until the minotaur made a fateful mistake. Rintrah tried to destroy a powerful and evil artefact, but in doing so, had his life force drained instead. To save him, Stange suspended Rintrah in a pocket dimension while he looked for a cure. Rintrah has not appeared in another Marvel comic since.

The actor 

Actor Adam Hugill is portraying Rintrah in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Hugill is a fresh face to Hollywood, having only acted in BBC's The Watch and 1917. 

Although Rintrah is not a popular mainstream character, he is deeply beloved by fans who do know about him. Should Hugill put on a good show, there's no doubt that fans will want to see more of Rintrah. 

Hugill is joining a growing list of fledging fresh faces that will be propelled to even greater heights through their MCU appearances.

It seems like Marvel Studios enjoys bringing in relative unknowns as in their recent castings in new projects, including Iman Vellani for Ms. Marvel, Dominique Thorne for Ironheart and Gomez alongside Hugill for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The movie 

Rintrah briefly appeared in the Doctor Strange 2 trailers, but it's unclear how prominent he will be in a movie that already seems full of so many different characters and conflicts. Nonetheless, we do know he is a great ally of Strange's and if this movie were to replicate the close relationship the two had in the comics for the movie, we can expect to see a lot of him. 

The movie is the highly anticipated sequel to the first Doctor Strange movie released in 2016. The movie will further explore the multiverse as teased and seen in WandaVision, Loki and the latest Spider-Man: No Way Home movie, when Strange meddled with time, space and realities.

As seen in the trailers, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness aims to explore the consequences of Strange's actions and teases numerous cameos and appearances from the likes of Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer and characters such as Captain Carter, The Illuminati and more.

The movie's synopsis reads: 

"Dr Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the multiverse. However, a threat emerges that may be too big for his team to handle."

Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Scarlet Witch, Xochitl Gomez as Miss America/America Chavez, Benedict Wong as Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Adam Hugill as Rintrah and more. The movie premieres on May 4, 2022.

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